Danba

The valleys around Danba hold hundreds of stone towers, square or star-shaped in plan, built between roughly the eighth and thirteenth centuries and rising up to fifty metres, whose purpose remains debated between defence, status and storage. Around and among them stand the villages of the Gyarong Tibetans, houses of stone with whitewashed walls and painted trim stepping up the hillsides above the river, with Jiaju the best known and most photographed, terraced fields and orchards between the houses. Pear and apple blossom fills the valleys in spring, and autumn turns the slopes gold behind the white walls.

What you actually see

• The stone towers - medieval defensive towers scattered through the valleys.
• Jiaju village - whitewashed Gyarong houses stepped up the slope.
• The blossom - pear and apple flowering through the valleys in spring.
• The river gorges - deep valleys cut into the plateau edge.

When to go

April for blossom and October to early November for autumn colour are the two classic times; summer is green but wetter, winter cold and quiet. Roads can close after landslides in the rainy season.

Honest expectations

The road from Chengdu is long and prone to delays. Jiaju charges entry and has become touristed; other villages are quieter. Accommodation is family guesthouses, simple and cold in shoulder season.

Nearby

Siguniang lies southeast; Tagong is southwest.